Govt relaxes rules for Secretary-level empanelment

The rules relating to Secretary- level empanelment for officers have been relaxed by excluding a mandatory condition of having served three years in central deputation, the government said today.
In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the appointment to the positions of Additional Secretary or Secretary in the Government of India on deputation is preceded by their empanelment for appointment at the respective levels in the central governments.
He said the guidelines for evaluating suitability of officers for their empanelments as Secretary or Additional Secretary provide that officers fulfilling the prescribed benchmark will be excluded from consideration for empanelment if they have not worked on central deputation for a minimum period of three years at the level of Deputy Secretary or above.

"It has been decided recently with the approval of the competent authority that officers who have not completed one year of central deputation but are currently serving at the Centre, may be considered for empanelment along with the next batch," said Singh, Minister of State for Personnel, Public grievances and Pensions.